South of Ayr, and indeed covering much of the area in a seat called South Ayrshire up until 1983, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley has been a typically safe Labour area. This seat is a curious mix of pastoral beauty and industrial decay. Burns, born in Alloway, famously eulogised the banks and braes o' bonnie Doon, and the hills and coastal scenery attract many tourists, but there is also a significant industrial heritage. Macadam experimented with his tarmaced roads here, and although the ironworks closed years ago coal mining took place around Cumnock until quite recently. There is farming to the south, and there is a small seaside resort at Girvan. Keir Hardie, co-founder of the Labour Party and its first ever candidate, lived in Cumnock for many years.

This seat was represented by Jim Sillars from 1970-79, first for Labour and then for the breakaway Scottish Labour Party which he founded. He was beaten at the following general election by the official Labour candidate George Foulkes. This Holyrood seat was won in 1999 by Cathy Jamieson, deputy leader of the Scottish Labour and minister for education.